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221
revealed that this was not an issue—students actually were engaged and working. The
staff used this feedback to adjust their problem of practice to include more frequent
checks for student understanding. The use of CFAs, content writing and reading
comprehension tasks are now in the process of being used to better assess students’
learning at Cumulus HS. Since ELD students continue to struggle, a former Cumulus
High School teacher turned university professor still has ties to the school and provides
training and refresher courses twice a year in the areas of literacy and SDAIE strategies.
Many of the practices used at Cumulus HS are grounded in solid research; still there is a
reluctance to trust outside experts to deepen the implementation of these strategies and
provide a fresh look at current improvement efforts. Since the homegrown expertise is
limited, it creates the perfect recipe for stagnation.
Recruiting and developing top talent. The principal and associate principal
agreed that Cumulus High School has good teachers but lacks “teacher leaders” who are
able to communicate the message of school improvement to colleagues and ultimately to
the students. Perhaps what complicates the dynamics of Cumulus High School is the
“revolving door” of administrators and teachers whose tenure at the school is frequently
short-lived. In the past five years, administrators have been promoted to district office
positions and inexperienced homegrown administrators have taken their places. The new
principal and her associate were recruits from outside the district. Since their
appointment, school improvement efforts have accelerated. The current principal is an
alumna of the high school, increasing her sense of buy-in, she reports. The
administrative team has remained unchanged for two years. Still, Cumulus High School
Object Description
| Title | Navigating troubled waters: case studies of three California high schools' resource allocation strategies in 2010-2011 |
| Author | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Author email | landisi@usc.edu; blandisi@charter.net |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-28 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-28 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Picus, Lawrence O. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Hentschke, Guilbert C. Nelson, John L. |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to examine instructional strategies and resource allocation in successful schools. The study was based on the analysis of three comprehensive high schools in one school district in Southern California. Each of the study schools increased students’ academic achievement over time as measured by sustained growth on California’s Academic Performance Index. The efforts of these study schools also contributed to narrowing the achievement gap.; Successful schools in this study were analyzed primarily through the lens of Odden’s (2009) 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance. In addition to effective organizational and instructional strategies, this study also analyzed human and fiscal resource allocation at the sample schools. The study used the Evidence-Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) to analyze how the schools allocated resources during 2010-2011, navigating a catastrophic economic crisis facing California and the rest of the nation. Interview data, student achievement data and information on school-level resource use were included in case studies on each of these successful schools.; The findings indicate that although the resource use patterns of the study schools were significantly fewer than what the Evidence-Based Model suggests, the improvement strategies showed many commonalities to those suggested in the body of literature on school improvement. Strong leadership from the district office supported the reform efforts at each of the school sites. This leadership came in the form of a single district focus combined with continuity of leadership, development and retention of talent within the district and a common school improvement framework.; A heavy investment of time and fiscal resources into professional development created a collaborative culture within and between the high schools in the study. The schools that were most successful in raising student achievement demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and embraced the role of teacher leaders. The most effective schools in the study had in place internal accountability structures to support the implementation of the school and district focus. It is the effective implementation of research-based strategies, not simply resource allocation that makes schools successful and contributes to further growth in student achievement. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. |
| Keyword | education finance; secondary education; educational leadership; budget crisis; instructional leadership; Odden and Picus; resource allocation; school finance; school reform |
| Geographic subject (county) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2010/2011 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3797 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Landisi-4355 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Landisi-4355.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 233 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 221 revealed that this was not an issue—students actually were engaged and working. The staff used this feedback to adjust their problem of practice to include more frequent checks for student understanding. The use of CFAs, content writing and reading comprehension tasks are now in the process of being used to better assess students’ learning at Cumulus HS. Since ELD students continue to struggle, a former Cumulus High School teacher turned university professor still has ties to the school and provides training and refresher courses twice a year in the areas of literacy and SDAIE strategies. Many of the practices used at Cumulus HS are grounded in solid research; still there is a reluctance to trust outside experts to deepen the implementation of these strategies and provide a fresh look at current improvement efforts. Since the homegrown expertise is limited, it creates the perfect recipe for stagnation. Recruiting and developing top talent. The principal and associate principal agreed that Cumulus High School has good teachers but lacks “teacher leaders” who are able to communicate the message of school improvement to colleagues and ultimately to the students. Perhaps what complicates the dynamics of Cumulus High School is the “revolving door” of administrators and teachers whose tenure at the school is frequently short-lived. In the past five years, administrators have been promoted to district office positions and inexperienced homegrown administrators have taken their places. The new principal and her associate were recruits from outside the district. Since their appointment, school improvement efforts have accelerated. The current principal is an alumna of the high school, increasing her sense of buy-in, she reports. The administrative team has remained unchanged for two years. Still, Cumulus High School |
